Draft Wrap-Up

[teegre]

Here is a write-up about each pick. Admittedly, it is written by my buddy... so, I'm biased. Regardless, I still think that you will find it enjoyable.

http://www.thepointofpittsburgh.com/...p/#comment-795

The draft. It’s our favorite time of the off season. It feeds us when we’re craving for football the most and provides quite the spectacle. The ambiance, production and atmosphere of the draft isn’t matched by any other in professional sports. Though it deviatied from its usual home in Radio City Music Hall in New York, Chicago was able to capture much of that same feeling that makes the draft special. Kudos to the city of Chicago for hosting and producing an incredible draft.
When I say incredible draft, I’m not only speaking about the atmosphere of Chicago itself. The Pittsburgh Steelers draft this off season was just that – incredible. There has been much debate amongst NFL analysts on just what to make of the Steelers’ selections this past week. Fret not, Steelers fans, as the draft for the Steelers was the best I have seen in recent years. Concerns about defensive back talent coming into the draft were warranted, but should now be silenced with the front office prioritizing rejuvenating the secondary and adding young talent to the mix. However, the Steelers draft kicked off with perhaps its biggest steal of the night.

[steelreserve]

Very thorough breakdown and spot-on IMO.

The one thing I worry about is how many of our picks are in the category of "Yes, he has flaws -- but they're coachable flaws." I'm still not sure if Tomlin knows how to coach players and make them better. A big, big gripe of mine about Tomlin has been player development (or lack thereof).

We seem to end up with a handful of rookies who "get it" right away and are so good that they would probably succeed with minimal coaching anyway. (Pouncey, A. Brown, Bell, etc.) But we also have a lot of guys who come in as rookies and have a lot of raw talent but are inconsistent ... and they continue to play that way (in other words, continue to play like rookies) for most of their time here. Adams, Worilds, Allen, etc., are good examples of this.

What really sold me on this idea was seeing the difference Munchak made in just one season as a position coach. Get a guy in there who knows what he's doing, and that kind of crap started disappearing in a hurry. I think Carnell Lake has a big job cut out for him, so I hope he's up to it. Joey Porter too. For all I like about Dupree's pure talent, a lot of those same things were said about Jarvis Jones - so let's hope this is the one that breaks in the other direction.

[tube517]

Draft was a bust! Fire Teegre!

Nice writeup!

[teegre]

Draft was a bust! Fire Teegre!

Nice writeup!

Clarification: that wasn't my write-up... it's my friend's.

(My draft article is slotted for Friday morning.)

Regardless, yes... FIRE THE DRAFT!!!

[crcsnail]

That was a good read .thx for posting .

[Aussie_steeler]

Good read Teegre

Found it interesting that Mark Stoops changed Kentucky's D to a 3-4 but didn't bother to hire a line backers coach. He then comes out and says that Dupree will excel with some 3-4 OLB coaching. Kind of sounds like he played the year at OLB with instruction only from his D line coach.

As your buddy alluded to with Dupree - you can coach skills, system and technique, but you cannot coach someone to be a genetic freak.

[teegre]

Good read Teegre

Found it interesting that Mark Stoops changed Kentucky's D to a 3-4 but didn't bother to hire a line backers coach. He then comes out and says that Dupree will excel with some 3-4 OLB coaching. Kind of sounds like he played the year at OLB with instruction only from his D line coach.

As your buddy alluded to with Dupree - you can coach skills, system and technique, but you cannot coach someone to be a genetic freak.

Q: Why didn't Stoops hire a LB coach??? Odd.


My buddy (who wrote the article) and I were discussing Dupree on draft day. We agree. Neither he nor I are big "potential" guys, but Dupree is a different kind of "potential" player. Mike Mamula was a combine warrior, who couldn't play. Conversely, while Dupree had great combine numbers, he also showed his potential on the field. Dupree was a TE, then an ILB, and finally, he played OLB (without much coaching). Once he settles in to playing OLB (and gets some coaching) he is going to be phenomenal.

In other words, you can teach a player the swim move, but you can't teach him speed.